


A Demonstration

by deprooks



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Emotional Manipulation, F/M, Fear, M/M, Manipulation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-13
Updated: 2019-07-13
Packaged: 2020-06-27 16:10:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19794385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deprooks/pseuds/deprooks
Summary: You run into a Stark Industries employee while waiting to meet Tony Stark. He decides to show you what he's working on.Quentin Beck/Reader Insert, Reader is vaguely involved with the Avengers. Unspecified gender, pre-snap. SPOILERS for FFH.TW: Manipulation, intentional use of fear tactics.





	A Demonstration

The first time you met him, he wasn’t Quentin Beck, saviour of the world, _Mysterio._ He was just… Quentin. An employee at Stark Industries, working late hours in a cubicle toward the back of the office.

When you wandered into the office he didn’t notice you at first, focused on the tablet in his hands. You looked around the room curiously, and thought to yourself how surprising it is that the office didn’t look nearly as high-tech as you’d expected. Save for the back corner, where two holographic screens illuminated a desk and the man sitting behind it, the large office space was dark and empty. Rows of desks with wooden partitions dividing them, which were devoid of any personal belongings or visible technology.

Was this where you were supposed to meet Tony Stark? 

“Um, hello there! Is Mr. Stark around?” You called out to the figure tentatively, reaching out a hand to wave. The man’s head shot up in surprise, and he squinted at you, eyes adjusting to the darkness of the room. If you had to guess, he hadn’t looked away from the screen in a while. He set his tablet down on the desk in front of him, and stood with a stretch.

“No,” He answered sharply, coldly, but then he laughed. “No, just me working late again. He’s probably at some great party right now, sipping a tequila sunrise.” The man paused, staring at you. “You’re… are you an Avenger? You know, you look familiar.” Leaning against the corner of his desk and facing you, he pointed in your direction- he spoke with his hands, you noticed, expressively.

You shrugged. “I think that’s probably up for debate,” You answered honestly. He quirked a small, curious eyebrow and a smile, and you told him your name. 

“If not an Avenger, then a friend of the great Tony Stark?” He asked. You weren’t entirely sure that the way he was smiling at you was in good humour. Something about his smile seemed almost… cynical. Still, you walked across the room over to him, mirroring his posture and leaning against another desk across the way from him. Holographic screens depicted translucent images where he’d been working, glowing in the darkness and bathing him in a neon blue light.

“Friends would be pushing it, I think. I’m sure you know him better than I do. I was supposed to get a tour of the Industries tonight after he finished his afternoon meetings, but…” You checked the time on your phone, and then nervously swept your eyes across the room, “Either I’m in the entirely wrong place, or he is.”

“Well, the fancy keycard you had to have used to get in didn’t steer you wrong. This is the Industries. In fact, I’m working on the leading project right now. I’m just making the finishing touches, it should be ready for unveiling in a few months.” The man gestured back to his desk, “And even though Stark’s the one with his name on the building, this is a wholly Quentin Beck creation.”

“Quentin Beck?” You repeated softly, “I’ll remember that, then.”

Something flashed in his eyes at your words, something a little dangerous, and you watched as his grin widened. Quentin ran a hand through his hair, as if considering something. A giggle bubbled up through his lips, before he suddenly slid off of his desk and leapt to standing.

“Oh, I’ll make sure of it. Come here, come here. I’ll give you a demonstration, since Stark isn’t going to.” Beckoning you over and walking around to the other side of his desk, Quentin began to quickly type some numbers into his keyboard, looking from the holographic screens to his tablet. With a few more animated sweeps of his hand, several other pieces of technology- ones you hadn’t noticed before, that looked like small projectors- beeped to life around the office.

When you hesitated, he beckoned you over again, with an exaggerated roll of his eyes.

“I’m not going to bite,” He teased, pushing up his sleeves. You followed him over to his desk, standing at his side as he stood with his hands on his hips, reading over the screens.

“There,” He hummed, glancing at you from his peripheral vision, “You’re never going to forget this.” Holding the tablet in his hand, he pressed a single button.

And the entire room changed. 

“Oh!” You gasped. Your eyes widened as the walls around you fell backward, as though they were made of cardboard, revealing an endless dark void stretching beyond the room as far as you could see. Below you, the ground cracked into long, deep fissures, and by instinct you grabbed an all-too-pleased looking Quentin by the arm as it crumbled away. 

Everything went dark. You were in complete blackness, and the only reason you knew you weren’t alone was the arm you were hanging onto.

“Don’t worry,” Quentin murmured into your ear, his breath warm on your skin, sending a shiver down your spine. An arm wrapped firmly around your waist. “Stay close to me, and watch.”

Instead of plummeting down into the darkness- like your hammering-heart was screaming you would be- you were floating. And all around you, light began to stream into the void, as though refracted through a prism. Streaming in from the nothing, there was suddenly light, and with it, came life. Where the light illuminated, grass began to grow under your feet, before flowers and foliage followed. The sky turned from black, to navy, to a blue.

The same shade of blue as his eyes, you noticed, looking back at him.

“This is incredible,” You breathed, letting go of Quentin’s arm and taking a tentative step away from him, outward toward the world. It was as though he had taken you to a different continent. You could hear birds chirping, see butterflies fly around you in strange and brilliant colours, and you could swear you felt the sun beating down on you.

“Isn’t it?’ Quentin responded, pride evident in his expression. You could see the excitement in him as he strode forward to meet you. “A thousand applications. A million. I can convince anyone of anything, make reality become whatever I want it to be.” 

Reaching down, Quentin plucked a pink flower from the Earth. 

“It’s funny, though.” He said, studying it intently, “We’re having a debate right now at the office. Whether this feels real enough to make someone actually feel afraid.” Quentin held out the hibiscus for you to take, and you gave him a curious look. You weren’t exactly liking where this conversation was headed.

“I take it you say it is?” You asked him, reaching out to take the offered flower.

The second the tips of your fingers made contact to the stem, both the flower and Quentin vanished, leaving you alone in the meadow. In silence.

“Quentin?” You called out, spinning around. He was nowhere in sight, and overhead, a dark cloud was beginning to roll in. “Quentin Beck, this isn’t funny!”

“I have to admit, I kinda like the way you say my name when you’re nervous,” you heard him say, like he was sharing a secret, the sound of his voice carried by the wind to a space somewhere behind you. 

Swallowing in anxiety and annoyance, you balled your hands into fists and looked around for an exit. The thundercloud cast a dark shadow over the scene, which had so recently been beautiful and had now become haunted. The shadows of trees became twisted, and the plants withered and died around you. The light that had streamed in and brought life to the world around had been snuffed out in an instant.

You tried to close your eyes and remember it was an illusion, but as the wind picked up, you could feel it against your skin and you were starting to wonder what was real. The shadows were stretching unnaturally long now, and as one snaked toward you, you took two frightful steps back. Shapes were jutting out of the ground, unnatural slabs of stone, and a wild fear swept through you. 

“Hey, hey-!” Another step back, and your foot met the edge of a hole, your body teetering and nearly falling into the opening. No, it wasn’t just a hole- it was a grave. The meadow had become a graveyard, you realized with a hard leap of your heart.

A sliver of light caught your eye, to the right. The shadows were still closing in on you, but if you ran that way, you could maybe escape them, go somewhere they couldn’t touch- it was a chance. You started to run toward the light, and-

And you ran face first into Quentin’s arms, colliding with his chest.

You spent a moment reeling as he held you, a simultaneously smug and delighted expression on his face. The illusion was gone, and you were back in the empty, quiet office space. The projectors hummed around you. 

When you finally steadied yourself, you glared at him.

“You’re- who does that?” You snapped angrily, feeling your hands start to shake as you take a step back, away from him. Quentin looked at you apologetically, but you got the feeling he was more amused than sorry. “That was so mean! What’s wrong with you?”

“Hey, hey,” Quentin put up his hands in surrender, trying to placate you, “I didn’t mean to make you feel like you were in real danger! I was just testing the theory. Shh, hey,” His smile settled into a more serious expression, a kind expression, and he gently took your hands into his. Like he was realizing how upset you truly were, and now felt bad. Your lips drew into a frown- you weren’t sure if he was acting or not.

Sensing your hesitation- and lingering annoyance- he reached up softly and took your chin into his hand, tilting it up to look you in the eyes. Your breath caught in your throat at the tenderness of the contact, crossed with the intensity of his gaze. He was looking at you like you were the only thing that mattered in the universe, and it was nothing short of adoring.

“I wouldn’t hurt you,” He reassured you, and with only an edge of condescension, cooed, “don’t be silly, sweetheart.”

And with a few words from Tony Stark, the spell between the two of you, whatever it had been, was broken.

“Yes. Don’t be _silly._ Remind me again why it would be silly not to trust you?”

Quentin’s eyes snapped from your face to his boss’, and for just a second, you saw something nearly feral in them. As soon as you’d seen it, it had gone, and his face became a cold mask instead.

“Mr. Stark,” He said, letting go of your chin but keeping his other hand tight on your wrist, “I didn’t see you there.”

“Obviously not,” Tony replied as he continued down the stairs into the dim office room, looking troubled. “Tell me, Beck, do you always like to terrify my guests? Should I be concerned here?”

You could see red flushing to Quentin’s ears, and despite yourself, you felt the urge to speak in his defence. Carefully, you pulled your arm away from his grip, and he looked surprised, as though he hadn’t realized he’d still been holding onto you.

“It’s okay, Mr. Stark. Quentin was just showing me what his new technology can do. It’s really impressive.” Quentin shot you a grateful look, but you could see his jaw clenching.

Tony stopped, looking between you and Quentin. He gave a long pause.

“Alright,” He said then with a shrug, “You kids want to play, go ahead. I _would_ prefer if you didn’t show off my top secret technology and get all touchy-feely with the people I invite in, but we’ll talk about it later.”

For a second, you saw Quentin hesitate, as though he was considering arguing back with Tony. And then, his mouth turning to a slight sneer, he simply nodded.

“Yes _Sir,_ ” It wasn’t hard to catch the bitterness in Quentin’s tone, and Tony looked disquieted by it as he turned to you.

“Alright, well, maybe that’s enough excitement for one night, anyway. Sorry about being late, I got caught up by- well, it doesn’t really matter. We’ll do the tour another time. I’ll give you a lift home.” Tony moved to leave, and began to ascend back up the steps to the hallway outside. 

Without turning to look back at Quentin, he called out as if it was an afterthought, addressing him. “And you. Stop creeping around the office, you look terrible. Go home, and get some sleep.” 

Before following Tony, you looked at Quentin. His eyes were burning a hole in the back of Tony’s head, but when he caught you gaze, the look softened into something almost thoughtful.

There was no doubt: he was terrible. And probably dangerous. And definitely incredibly charming.

“I’ll see you around, Quentin Beck,” You whispered to him, and for the first time since Tony had arrived, he grinned.

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on Tumblr at https://deputyrook.tumblr.com/ I post there first!


End file.
